THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has busted a “one chance” robbery gang and arrested five members of the syndicate.
Over the years, The ICIR has painstakingly documented the menace of one-chance robberies and the systemic transportation gaps that endanger residents’ lives. Previous investigations – Caught in the Belly of One-Chance Robbers: Nigeria’s Major Cities Hotbed for Crime on Passengers and How Gaps in FCT Transport System Endanger Residents’ Lives – have exposed how unsafe and poorly regulated transport networks create fertile ground for such crimes to thrive, leaving passengers vulnerable to violence, extortion, and even death.
A statement from the command on Saturday, August 9, signed by its spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, said a victim was rescued, while a member of the gang was neutralised.
According to the police, the action was in a sustained onslaught against armed “one chance” syndicates within the FCT and its environs.
The police said operatives of the command attached to the Anti-One Chance Unit also recovered a dark grey Toyota Corolla vehicle used by the gang.
“On 6th August 2025, at about 08:30 a.m., while on routine patrol with two vehicles, the officers sighted a victim later identified as Angel Patrick, being pushed out of a moving vehicle along the Kubwa Expressway.
“In a swift response, one team stopped to rescue the victim, immediately conveying her to Zankwochi Hospital, Mabushi, for urgent medical attention, while the second team, comprising undercover officers, pursued the fleeing suspects to the Aso area of Mararaba, Nasarawa State,” the command stated.
The police said that following a hot chase and a fierce gun duel, the suspects were forced to stop.
Members of the group arrested include Jude Simon of Mararaba, Emmanuel Akor, Daniel Benson, Uche Thomas, and Tope Ola, all males from the Mpape area of the FCT.
The command said all the arrested members of the gang had been on its wanted list.
One suspect was neutralised during the exchange of fire and later confirmed dead at the Asokoro General Hospital.
Investigations further revealed that one of the suspects, Simon, had been arrested in December 2024, charged, and remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre for the same offence.
Exhibits recovered from the suspects include one vehicle, six (6) ATM cards suspected to belong to previous victims, one jackknife, a sum of ₦115,000, and other personal items suspected to belong to previous victims.
The police said the suspects had freely confessed to being “one chance” team members and admitted they had been involved in the crime for several years.
The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, while applauding the bravery and professionalism of the officers, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to flushing out criminal elements from the FCT.
The ICIR reports that one-chance has been a menace in the FCT. People involved in the act forcefully dispossess people of their belongings and kill those who refuse to cooperate.
They often pretend to be passengers and the driver in a vehicle, leaving a space or two for victims to occupy.
Upon boarding, the driver zooms off while the members dangle weapons, including guns, cutlasses and knives before their victim(s), in a bid to take whatever the passenger(s) have.
In addition to weapons, the criminals move around with point-of-sale (PoS) machines with which they forcefully empty the accounts of their victims.
Many victims eventually get thrown out of the moving vehicles. While some have died, others have survived.
The ICIR reported the case of a resident, Freda Arnong, a young lady killed by the criminal group in Abuja recently.
The deceased sister, Arnong Titus Ememobong, narrated the tragic death of her sister on Facebook on Monday, July 8.
She called for the implementation of a driver and vehicle authentication transport system in the FCT to curb the menace of one chance in the city.
“On July 1, 2025, my sister, Freda Arnong, closed from her house fellowship near the CBN Institute, Maitama, Abuja. She lived on Pope John Paul Street and, like any normal evening, boarded a taxi around 7:00 pm along the Transcorp Hilton road — unaware that it was a ‘one chance’ vehicle,” she said.
She said that according to Freda’s account, the moment she boarded the vehicle, she was blindfolded and viciously beaten.
A reporter with the ICIR
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